


Ticklesaurus Rex

by LittleGargalite



Category: Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: Bonding, Brothers, Gen, Healing, Tickle Fights, Tickling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-15
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-09 09:56:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4344038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleGargalite/pseuds/LittleGargalite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"We're gonna always be brothers, and we're always gonna come back to one another. No matter what." - Zach Mitchell, "Jurassic World"</p>
<p>Gray's been plagued with consistent nightmares since his return from Jurassic World. When a paticularly bad thunderstorm conjures up terrifying memories of the Indominus, he looks towards his older brother, Zach, for comfort -- Gray always feels safest when he's in Zach's arms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ticklesaurus Rex

 

* * *

     Gray felt it: the pull of that long black claw, like a polished scythe, catching on the strap that was around his waist.

     The claw of the Indominus Rex, tugging him out of his _brother’s_ arms.

     As he slipped slowly from his grasp, he remembered thinking, for the briefest of moments, that he was going to die. His throat was hoarse from screaming, his eyes burned from the tears, the back of his neck was sticky with chilling sweat.

     There was nothing he could do.

     The strap held fast, and that sociopathic beast, in its unceasing quest to kill, was going to rip him apart, right after ripping him away from the person he loved most.

     The Indominus’ roar shattered the sound waves, the deafening noise seeping out through its serrated teeth and cracking across the otherwise silent skies. Gray closed his fiery eyes, facial muscles straining.

     Slipping, slipping.

     The I-Rex snarled. The tip of its onyx claw raked down across the concrete.

     _Zach, please don’t let go._ _Please._

Gray couldn’t speak. He wanted to scream, but his voice failed him.

     _Zach, PLEASE!_ His older brother’s forearm was now up high on his chest. He was being dragged out from under his hold – weaker now. It was only them: two brothers, sitting together at the threshold between life and death, a Jurassic reaper inviting Gray over the edge.

     _Please don’t let him get me, Zach._

“I w-won’t, Gray. I won’t,” Zach whispered, almost as if he could hear his thoughts.

     _Please._

     “I’ll never let go, Gray.”

     _Promise?_

     “Promise.”

     But Zach had been lying.

     Because he _did_ let go.

     And suddenly, Gray was alone: screaming as he slid away from the apathetic face of his older brother; dragged across the cold, marred concrete toward the jagged jaws of the “untamable king.” He braced himself as the Indominus bellowed proudly, its roar rivaling the thunderstorm outside.

     The _thunderstorm._

     Thunder.

     Not a roar.

     _Thunder_.

     Gray opened his eyes. Slowly. Gently. He felt the stickiness of residual tears on his cheeks.

     He was in his bed.

     In his room.

     Not in the kiosk on Jurassic World’s main street. Not on Isla Nublar.

     Home.

     He sniffed and wiped at his eyes as his heartbeat lulled. His racing thoughts began to slow their pace and redirect themselves back to Zach. The memories of his nightmare were enough to pull him from beneath his covers, out his bedroom door, and down the hall.

     Zach’s door was closed. No surprises there. Gray considered going back for a moment – he didn’t know how kindly his older brother would take to him intruding in the middle of the night. Before he could step away, however, another clap of thunder reverberated through the house.

     Gray shivered, recalling the ear-shattering cry of the Indominus again.

     He wrapped his trembling fingers around the knob and twisted.

     _Unlocked._

     He pried the white door open. It squeaked on its hinges.

     “Zach…?” he whispered.

     “Gray?” The response was almost immediate. Zach wasn’t on his bed. He was sitting at his desk just to the right of the door. He was also in his pajamas, his black headphones around his neck. His laptop was propped open, but the rest of the room was cloaked in the blue darkness that was the storm-riddled night.

     “H-hey,” Gray mumbled, feeling strangely embarrassed.

     “What’s up? Why you still awake?” Zach asked, a tinge of concern in his voice.

     “Bad dream…”

     Zach closed his laptop, and Gray caught a glimpse of the screen: a CNN news article regarding the closure of _Jurassic World._ Their aunt, Claire, had been tied up in press interviews for the last week and a half.

     “Me too,” Zach muttered.

     Gray hadn’t been expecting _that._ “Really?” he asked, still frozen in the doorway. He pushed himself up against the wooden frame, grip tightening on the knob.

     “Uh, yeah,” Zach sighed, staring off into his thoughts. A strange silence grew between them, one that allowed the boys to focus in on the heartbeat of the rain, a soft pitter-pattering on the windows and rooftop. Gray felt obligated to speak up before the sky saw the opportunity to haunt him again with its bellow.

     “Are Mom and Dad home yet?”

     Zach looked over and shook his head. “No. Said they wouldn't be home until after midnight. They're talking things out, or something."

     Gray chewed on his lip. He wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. Ever since they’d returned from _Jurassic World_ , their parents had been getting along much better than before. In a weird, almost twisted way, Gray was happy that he and his brother had been put through so much recently – the traumatic events on Isla Nublar; them almost losing their lives… it had somehow brought the family closer together. He smiled softly, lost in hopeful thought.

     “Hey.” Zach brought him back. His tone was stern.

     Gray gasped, almost inaudibly. His large blue eyes focused in on his brother.

     “You wanna stay in here…?” Zach asked, just as another strum of thunder rolled across the sky.

     Gray frowned. Even though Zach had _definitely_ been, well, _nicer_ to him since they’d gotten back, such a request was very… _weird._

     “What…?”

     “You said you couldn’t sleep,” Zach snapped, brow furrowing, almost as if he were suddenly on the defensive.

     “O-oh…”

     “Just trying to do you a favor,” he sighed bitterly, rubbing at his eyes.

     “You really don’t mind?”

     “Yo genius, would I have asked you otherwise?”

     There was an awkward pause.

     “No,” Gray reasoned timidly, finally stepping into the room. He couldn’t have accepted the invitation faster. The rain outside intensified, drops slamming down on the windows.

     “JUST until the storm’s over,” Zach added, almost as if he needed to clarify.

     Gray hesitated, but nodded, and beelined for the bed. He eagerly jumped onto the mattress, smashing his face into the covers.

     “Whoa, whoa, whoa! What do you think you’re doing?!” Zach yelped. Gray turned over and faced his brother.

     “What do you mean?”

     “Get out of my bed, you weirdo!”

     “You said I could stay!”

     “Not in my _bed_!”

     “Where am I supposed to go, then?” he whined.

     “I dunno. Sit at my desk. Or, lay on the floor. I’m _not_ sharing a bed with you.”

     “You used to,” he argued.

     “Well, we’re not kids anymore. Grow up.”

     Gray frowned. He couldn’t count the number of times Zach had said that to him.

     “Why don’t _you_ stay in your chair and I’ll just lay here?” Gray suggested.

     “What? No!”

     “Why?”             

     “Cuz it’s _my_ bed!”

     “Well, I don’t wanna move,” Gray grumbled, a playfulness sparking in his chest. “Your bed’s always been nicer than mine.”

     “Well, _mine_ doesn’t have a monster living under it,” Zach quipped sarcastically, recalling their mom’s ongoing joke.

     Gray wanted to laugh, but the very mention of “monster” cued images of the Inodominus’ jaws closing down around the glass of their Gyrosphere back at the park; cued sounds of Zach’s screams. Gray shivered and buried his face back into the comforter.

     “C’mon, move,” Zach ordered.

     “No,” Gray argued, voice muffled.

     “ _Gray_.”

     “No!”

     “What the heck’s your problem?!” Zach growled. Gray heard him stand up, put his headphones down, and approach the side of the bed.

     Gray knew _exactly_ what the problem was.

     “Get up,” Zach instructed. Gray felt his bony fingers touch down on his shoulder, but he didn’t respond.

     “God, you’re such a baby! Get _up!_ ” Zach shook him, and it jolted up more involuntary memories – the tremble of the ground as the Indominus Rex closed in on them from behind, right before they had to jump for their lives; the quaking and shattering of the Gyrosphere as the same mutant monster tried to get to them: the soft-chewy prizes inside…

     “ _GRAY!”_ Zach grunted and, finally applying enough force, flipped him onto his back, just as the storm clouds howled again. This particular wave of thunder was louder than the rest. Gray seized up, almost as if his muscles were locking in place. His eyes found Zach’s – also wide with what could only be described as fear. Both boys remained silent and frozen, long after the echoing crack in the skies had faded away.

     “It sounds like the Indominus, doesn’ it?” Gray whispered after a long pause.

     Zach frowned and slowly nodded.

     “Ev-v-very time I g-go to sleep,” the younger boy whimpered, “I see it.”

     Zach lowered his head.

     “D-do you?” Gray asked.

     Zach hesitated, but he didn't say thing. Finally, following a long sigh, he relented. “Move over.”

     Gray’s frown lightened. He slowly scooted his body to the side, making room for his older brother on the bed. Zach sat down in the newly available space and brought his skinny, flannel-covered legs up onto the mattress. They laid together in silence for a few minutes, a couple inches of cold space between them. The rain remained constant.

     “H-hey, Zach…?” Gray sniffed, feeling the sudden sting of tears in his eyes – he’d come to a discouraging realization.

     “What?”

     “I…” – his voice cracked – “I d-don’t think I like dinosaurs anymore…” He looked up at Zach through blurred vision. His older brother just furrowed his brow and exhaled a one-beat snicker.

     “What..? You serious?”

     Gray nodded softly. “I don’t want to see them anymore. I don’t want to see _it_ anymore…”

     “Well, I don’t blame you,” Zach offered. “I mean, back when we were in the park… W-when everything was happening, i-it… I dunno, it was… I mean, everything happened s-so fast; it was like a blur, you know?”

     Gray really couldn’t follow his brother’s train of thought, and he shook his head.

     “I mean, it’s like this,” – Zach paused and turned to him – “I don’t think we really had time to, like, _process_ what happened to us. Not until now, you know? It’s almost like it doesn’t feel… _real._ ”

     “Except when we’re dreaming…” Gray added.

     Zach paused and eyed his brother curiously. “Right,” he muttered in agreement, “when we’re dreaming…”

     The clouds grumbled as if to taunt them.

     Gray wiped at his eyes. He usually didn’t mind crying in front of his brother, despite the fact that it normally resulted in Zach belittling him to no end – he’d always been the ‘emotional’ one.

     “So what, you’re, like, never gonna talk about dinosaurs again? It’s over…?” Zach asked, ignoring the tears.

     Gray shrugged, still thinking back to that moment on Main Street… that claw coming down on the strap around him… He closed his eyes, and tried to shut it out, but the tear-stung darkness only seemed to make things _worse_.

     “Gray…? Gray!”

     He opened his eyes. Zach was frowning again.

     “You okay..?” he asked.

     Gray wanted to nod, but he couldn’t. So, he breathed out his next words: “I’m scared.” He didn’t know why the fear was lingering so prominently. This wasn’t the first time he’d had a nightmare. Plus, they were _safe_ now. The Indominus was gone. They weren’t on the island. They were _home_. So, why was he feeling so... helpless…? So _vulnerable_?

     Gray turned away from him and he heard Zach sigh. He crossed his arms and looked out toward the rain-splattered windowpane, trying to cheer himself up. Zach was right, in a sense. He’d been unable to really process things up until now. He’d been looking forward to visiting _Jurassic World_ for months – it had represented everything that he loved: family, and adventure, and _dinosaurs_ …

     But now…

     _Jurassic World_ was gone. And, in its place, was a ghost town of a theme park; one that signified only fear, destruction, and _death…_ a battlefield marred by the Indominus’ warpath.

     Gray felt another heavy tear stream down his cheek. He sniffed again and wiped it away.

     “Gray…” Zach started from behind him. Gray was preparing himself for another lecture. He was ready to hear how he ‘shouldn’t cry,’ how he ‘should just grow up,’ and ‘deal with the way things were,’ but instead, Zach said something kind of strange: “Not _all_ dinosaurs are bad, you know?”

     Gray massaged his eyes and furrowed his brow, turning his head so that he could see his older brother, who was now hovering a bit closer to him.

     “W-what?”

     “Not _all_ dinosaurs are bad, dude,” Zach repeated, tone sprinkled with something _unusual._

“What do you mean?” Gray croaked, “I know…”

     “I think that the Indomino or whatever—“

     “ _Indominus Rex,”_ Gray corrected him.

     “I think that, for you, the _Indominus Rex,_ like, screwed everything up. Almost like it gave dinos a bad name,” Zach began to move his hands while he talked, as if it better illustrated his point.

     “Um, I d-don't know…” Gray muttered, still unsure of where his brother was going with this tangent.

     “I remember, back when we were kids, there was this one particular dinosaur that you were, like, _obsessed_ with.”

     Gray tried to think back. He’d been in love with dinosaurs for as long as he could remember – the fact that he had family in the business of _making_ them had always been the icing on the genetically-modified cake. He figured at this point, Zach was just trying to make him feel better in his old-Zach-kind-of-way; distract him, maybe?

     “Are you talking about the T-Rex?” Gray sniffed – it’d always been his favorite…

     “Well, sorta.” Zach smirked.                           

     Okay, he was _super_ confused now. He turned back, so that he was lying flat. He locked eyes with his brother – Zach’s brown irises were twinkling with something that made Gray nervous… He couldn’t really remember the last time Zach gave him that look, but it was oddly familiar.

     “You remember the _Tickle_ saurus Rex?” his older brother asked, smirk finally cracking into a grin.

     Gray’s frown exploded into a surprised smile. His heart drilled down into his stomach. He hadn't heard _that_  name since he was five. His first instinct was to run.

     “Z-Zach, are you crazy?!”

     Zach didn’t verbally respond. He pushed himself up, and arched his fingers, pulling his arms tight against his ribcage, as if to mimic the stance of a predator. Gray had to admit that it looked more Raptor than anything else.

     “W-what are you d-doing…?” he whimpered.

     “Looking at my prey,” Zach said with a sincere shrug.

     “N-no, no, no, _no-hoho!_ ” Gray began to giggle. He couldn’t help it. This was _completely_ out of nowhere. It’d been years since Zach had really touched him, let alone _tickled_ him. Ever since Zach had entered high school two years back, roughhousing with the likes of Gray had become something that was, apparently, socially forbidden. The fact that Zach had hugged him so many times while on Isla Nublar – it’d meant more than he could ever know. 

_This_ , however… Gray had _no_ idea what to do with _this._

     “What’s wrong?” Zach asked flatly, fingers descending toward Gray’s stomach.

     “Heeheeheeheh!” Gray could only giggle and shake his head. He didn't know how to respond.

     “W-what?” Zach laughed, watching his younger brother ball up into a fetal position. “G-Gray, I haven’t even touched you yet!”

     “Nohoho!”

     “Look, if you’re gonna laugh, a might as _well_ be tickling you,” Zach teased and touched down on Gray’s belly. His nimble fingertips slipped beneath Gray’s white tee and prodded into the warm, tender flesh. Gray squealed.

     “EEEEEEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!”

     Zach chuckled, raking his fingertips down his brother’s smooth flanks.

     “AAAAAHHAHAHAHAHA!” Gray yelped and rolled onto his side, kicking his legs. His frantic laughter began to drown out the heavy rains outside.

     “DAMN, Gray! I don’t remember you being this ticklish!” Zach chuckled.

     Gray didn’t remember it either. This was _terrible._ His brother’s fingers were like little _Compys_  scampering across his skin. His whole abdomen was tingling. Zach began to knead his sides – thumbs up top playing with the flesh at the slight divots above his hipbones, while his fingers beneath were sliding around the edges of his back. Shivers shot up Gray’s spine and laughter continued to bubble up through his tight lips.

     “AggghhahaHA!”

    Zach’s hands clamped down harder, each squeeze was like a jittering jolt of energy that ricocheted around his insides before bursting up through his esophagus like a firecracker.

     “Heheheh,” Zach teased, sticking his tongue out through an open-mouthed grin as he continued his work. Gray couldn’t see much, his eyes squeezing shut from the ticklish spasms seizing his upper body.

     “HAHA! ZAAAAHAAAAHAAACH!” Gray pleaded as his brother began to slide his hands up toward his ribs. The laughter-inducing sensations amplified.

     “The Ticklesaurus shows no mercy!” Zach taunted, almost uncharacteristically. Another flash of distant lightning cast sporadic bursts of blinding light into the otherwise dark room.

     “I H-HAEHAEHAEHATE THE TIHIHIHICKLESORHORHORHORUHUHUHS!” Gray screamed, eyes scrunched shut. The muscles in his face were tight. He felt the prickle of sweat at his hairline. He began to blindly reach up and slap at his older brother’s attacking arms. This, however, just gave Zach an opening. His strategic fingers bolted up into Gray’s bare hollows.             

     “AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Gray screeched, eyes shooting open.

     “Now what, _huh_?!” Zach giggled.

     "NOHOHOHO FAHAYHAYHAYHAIR!!!” Gray protested. Zach’s fingers continued to nibble away at his sensitive underarm flesh and Gray squeezed his biceps tight against his chest in an effort to pinch them out.

     “Not gonna work, Gray,” Zach pointed out. His eight fingers were working their magic on his little brother’s armpits, but his thumbs were still free. He pressed down on Gray’s tiny, hairless nipples, and began to stroke the tender skin in circular motions.

     “AGHKPTH! AGGGHAHAHA! HAHAHAHA!” Gray bucked upward, and tried to turn away again. Zach responded by advancing further, swinging his legs over his brother’s waist. Gray felt the weight of his sibling locking him down against the mattress. Zach was much taller than him and much heavier.

     _Oh no._ He knew he was in trouble.

     “Hey, Gray,” Zach prompted, pausing mid-tickle, “Ticklesaurus is the best dinosaur, huh?”

     Gray took the opportunity to catch his breath, his chest rising and falling as his grateful lungs took in air. He stared into his brother’s glowing face, his own tear-filled baby blues catching on Zach's smiling eyes of brown. True, Gray had to admit that this tickle torture was awful, but it was also…

      _Fun…?_

     Another roar of thunder resonated throughout the house, but this time, the sounds only made Gray giggle softly. Yes, he was feeling helpless, trapped beneath his brother, but it was a _good_ kind of helpless…

     This wasn’t the Indominus.

     This was _Zach_.

     “N-no,” Gray squeaked, finally responding to his question.

     “You sure about that?” Zach warned, applying a few quick, succinct squeezes to his brother’s armpits.

     “N-NOHO!” Gray repeated with a tight grin.

     “Say it!” Zach demanded, tickling again.

     “Nonohohoho!” Gray refused, a torrent of gurgles rolling up from his stomach.

     “Saaaay it!”

     “EEEHEHEEHEE! NOOHO!”

     “That does it,” Zach playfully growled, suddenly sliding back off of his brother’s waist. He brought himself down toward Gray’s socked feet, swinging his legs up next to his brother’s head. The younger boy gasped.

    “Oh nohohoho! NO! Not my feet! Not my feet!”

     “I warned you,” Zach flippantly stated. He turned quickly and swung his right arm around Gray’s ankles, blocking them from his view. Next thing he knew, he felt his socks being ripped from his soles, cool air now weaving in and out of his toes.

     “Not my feeheeheet!” Gray pleaded once more, but he knew it was pointless. Zach struck almost immediately, fingernails skittering across his insteps.

     “HOLY FRIIHIIHIIHIIICK!” he screamed, the electric jolts bursting across his bare soles like sparklers. Zach was not a merciful tickler. He always dug in _hard._ His fingers chomped their way into his soft skin, wriggling in a crazed frenzy.

     “HAHAHAHAHA! ZACH, PLEEHEEHEEASE!” Gray begged trying to pull his legs out of his brother’s grasp. He kicked, and writhed and pulled, but to avail.

     Zach held on firmly.

     And then he felt the fingers dive into the crevices beneath his toes.

     “AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! ZAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHACH!!!!!! NOHOHOHOHO!”   

     “Whoa, dahahamn!!” Zach snickered. Gray could _feel_ the sounds jolting up from his diaphragm, rocking his body. He bucked, he squealed, he squirmed, but he was at the complete mercy of his tickle-tormenter.

     “The Ticklesaurus claims another!” his older brother announced, and Gray felt him thread his bony fingers in between his toes, nipping at the sensitive webbing.

     “EEEEEEHEEEEHEEEHAHAHAHAHA!” This was a whole new level of ticklishness, driving the young boy wild. Gray’s head was spinning. His cheeks were tight and cramping up from his smile. His eyes were blurry from the tears. His throat was a little sore from the screams.

     He was desperate and he decided to take action. After all, Zach’s bare feet were right there on the bed next to him…

     So, Gray took a shot.

     He’d never really tickled Zach before – such a move would normally end badly for him – but, he figured things couldn’t get much worse than they already were. So, with as much energy as he could muster – through a bubbling onslaught of giggles and trembles – he reached up, grabbed Zach’s large pale foot, and pressed his own little fingers into the doughy sole.

     “Hehey!” Zach yelped and immediately snapped his legs back, almost kneeing Gray’s face in the process. Gray, however, was persistent, and with a rambunctious giggle, he had his hands pursue. He never realized his brother’s feet were so _soft._

     “No-no! Stahap!” Zach snickered, trying to scoot backwards. He’d stopped tickling Gray’s feet and was now focused on keeping his own soles out of Gray's reach. This small moment of freedom was enough.

     “RRRRRRRGGGH!” Gray released a hybrid noise – the base sound a laugh, the rest classified (a growl) – and, high on adrenalin and playful energy, he shot up and lurched toward his older brother. His pounce caught Zach off guard, who yelped in surprise and fell backward, head hanging off the foot of the bed. Gray scrambled up onto his brother’s slender torso.

     “Q-quihihihit! Ah, you bi-bihihitch!” Zach’s manly giggles were pleasing to Gray’s ear.

     “You shouldn’t say ‘bitch’!” Gray scolded, running his nimble fingers all over Zach's upper body. His brother’s stomach was flat and firm. He could feel his abs clench up as he laughed.

     “You’re so lahaehaehaehaeme!” Zach chuckled as Gray explored his chest, trying to jam his fingers into his older brother’s armpits. “Ahahaha noo!” Zach dropped his head off the edge of the bed and squeezed his eyes shut.

     Gray felt a lightness accumulate in his chest. It was almost indescribable, seeing his normally sullen, moody teen brother reduced to a smiling fit of giggles at his hands. Unfortunately, because Zach was so much stronger than him, he didn’t get to make much progress. Every strike was usually countered or blocked with ease. So, Gray found that he needed to return to square one.

     He retreated off of Zach’s long, lanky body, scrambled down his skinny legs, and tried to get his own arms around his large feet.

     “Nohoho! GET AWAY!” Zach shouted, but Gray wasn’t about to listen. His fingers scrambled onto his brother’s cream-colored insteps. His feet were narrow and his bony toes scrunched up immediately. Zach yelped and began to kick, rocking Gray back and forth on the mattress.

     “Weeheehee,” Gray teased, still able to tickle Zach’s feet, despite the fact that he was being tossed around like a pendulum. His quick fingers clumsily skittered up towards Zach’s toes and it made his brother roar.

     “OH CRAAAHAAAHAAAHAAAP!!!!! G-get awhawhawhawhawff!!” Zach's scream was so high-pitched, his voice cracked. Gray giggled -- he figured that ticklish toes ran in the family. Unfortunately, his brother's next kick was successful in jarring him loose. Gray had been at a disadvantage from the start. To make matters worse, he immediately realized that Zach _still_  had energy to burn.

     “You’re done!” his brother declared and, after withdrawing his legs, he slid up, and tackled Gray once more, forcing the boy into the mound of pillows at the headboard. The sandy-blonde squealed. He didn't know if he could handle another round.      

     "N-no, wait!" Gray started to beg, but he already felt Zach straddling his waist again. This time, he forcibly pried Gray's arms up over his head, taking a wrist in each hand. After a moment, the room grew still. The sounds of weakening rain and the boys’ heaving breathing accompanied the Northeastern storm currently rippling across the sky.         

     “Admit that the Ticklesaurus is the best.” Zach's instructions were the same as before. A smile was still decorating his face.

     Gray shook his head, heartbeat racing.

     “Hey, you _better_ do as I say,” Zach warned playfully. He used his left hand to lock both of Gray’s wrists in place above his head. He slowly began to lower his right hand, fingers descending down toward Gray’s exposed armpit.

     “No.” Gray knew what he was inviting him to do. He could already _feel_ Zach’s fingers ghosting in his hollow – like an anxious pressure tingling in his underarms.

     “Last chance, man,” Zach reasoned.

     Gray remained quiet.

     “Your choice,” he said with another shrug. Gray felt the fingers touch down hard. He held his breath and sealed his lips. He pulled down against Zach’s hold, but it was no use.

     “MMMMMMMMHHHHHHMMMHHHMMMM!” Gray’s insides felt like they were going to burst. He squeezed his eyes shut, nostrils flaring. He began to shake his head violently back and forth. His memories – once nightmares of the Indominus’ claws and jaws – were ricocheting around amongst those of Zach – his _brother_ , running with him to safety, hugging him, holding him close in the back of Claire’s van…

     “C’mon, Gray, you’re gonna have to give up,” Zach taunted, now sweeping his fingers across his chest and into his left pit. Gray tried to pull his arms down again, but he couldn’t. The pressure continued to build in his chest.

     “HMMMMMMMMMMMMHHHHHHHMMHMHMHMHMHMHMHM!!!” Gray felt the laughter ready to dive from his tongue. His straining cheeks pulled his lips taught. A toothy grin quickly cracked through.

     “SAY IT!” Zach demanded!

     “N-nnnnnnoooooooooo…”

     “Saaaaay it!” The hand moved back to the right armpit, Zach snaking his fingers into Gray’s sleeve the second time around. They scampered up into his bare flesh and the youngster lost it.

     “PFFFFFFFTTTTHTTTTTTHKKKKKKKKKHHHHHHHHKHHHHHKKHHHEEEHEEHEEHEE,” the crackling laughter streamed forth sloppily from his lips, shallow and breathy.

     “Say it and I’ll stop,” Zach reasoned.

     Gray shook his head again. He pulled and pulled against Zach’s hold, but it was no use.

     “C’mon… I could do this all night,” the older boy urged, continuing his assault. Gray continued to splutter and snicker, ready to scream.

     “Okayokayokay,” he breathed, about to burst, “i-if I ssssay it, y-you promise youhoohoo’ll st-stahahap?”

     “I promise,” Zach said with a nod, pausing for a second.

     “Eeeerrrrrgh,” Gray moaned. He really didn’t want to give in, but this was absolute torture. Unfortunately, Zach really didn’t give him much of a choice. He released Gray’s wrists, brought his second hand down into the younger boy’s other armpit and double-teamed both bare hollows at once.

     This was too much.

     “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA,” the eleven-year-old howled, “OOOOOOHKAYHAYHAYHAYHAYHAY! OKAY!! TH-THE—TIHIHIHIHICKLESORHORHORHORUS IS THE BEHEHEHEHEHEHST!!!! HAHAHAHAHA, STAHAHAHAHAP!”                     

     Zach kept his promise. He immediately pulled his hands free and rolled off of Gray, bringing himself to lie down next to him.      

     “Cr-craaaaaaaaap,” Gray moaned exhaustedly, staring up into the ceiling. His heartbeat began to slow, but his nerves were still firing away all over his body.             

     Zach chuckled and brought his arm around Gray again. The youngster immediately flinched and began to giggle, but Zach pulled him into a tight hug from behind and patted his chest a few times. Gray couldn’t help but let a surprised gasp softly seep through his lips. A warmth ignited in his chest and he closed his eyes and smiled.

     “You okay?” Zach asked, amusement lacing his tone.

     Gray nodded.

     “Still thinking about that stupid Indominus?”

     Gray shook his head. “No,” he mumbled.

     “How about the dinosaurs? Still hate 'em?"

     Gray laughed at Zach’s logic. A tickle attack really wasn’t going to change a mindset – _still_ , the feelings of fear that he’d been experiencing before, they’d been diluted by something else: something _happy_. Sure, one night didn’t mean forever – the healing process would take time. But, it was a start.

     “I guess not,” Gray admitted. “Besides, the Indominus wasn’t a _real_ dinosaur.”

     Zach breathed a laugh. The ‘real’ dinosaurs had ultimately won the day, after all.           

     “Hey, the rain stopped,” his older brother pointed out after a minute or so of silence. Gray focused in on the stillness of the night, a sudden and powerful exhaustion grabbing hold of his consciousness.

     “Oh yeah,” Gray sighed, closing his eyes. He loved the fact that Zach was still holding onto him, arm wrapped around his neck and chest, just like back on the island, back when he was trying to protect him. “Zach?”

     “Yeah?”

     “Promise you won’t let go.” The words were weak now as they left his tongue. Zach responded by hugging him tighter. Gray turned and buried his face into the side of his brother’s chest.

     “I promise.”

      _This…_ this was very much real. The contact between them – the touch, the warmth, the energy: all anchoring. And, for the first time since he'd returned from _Jurassic World_ , Gray slept soundly.


End file.
